Dream For Her Tonight
by Third Time Charm
Summary: With love and loss, and tears with the laughter, the memory of growing up was uncomfortable at best, painful at worst. For all the hurt, Sakura could not help but recall those glittering days where love was freely given and laughter came without a price.
1. As We Age

**Title: **As we Age

**Disclaimer: **Overall disclaimer for the entire series, I own nothing. Story rating is for themes and possible language. Any other disclaimer will be on a chapter-by-chapter basis.

**Date: **9/13/2010; 12:44a.m.

**Soundtrack:** Glitter in the air(P!nk)

**Story Precursor: ** As we age, our hopes are replaced with wisdom, our dreams are exchanged with cynicism. Our youthful exuberance is overtaken with canny mechanisms and our honesty is lost to subterfuge. As we grow, we lose the part of ourselves that created us-body, mind and soul. With the loss of our hopes, all we have left to us is to look back to the beginning, and remember in vain, the days when there were dreams. -_Elle_

* * *

"_Yes I love him. I love him more than anything else in this world, and there is nothing that I would like better than to hold onto him forever. But I know it's not for the best. So no matter how much my heart is going to break, I've got to let him go, so he can know just how much I love him. Maybe if I'm lucky, he'll come back. But if not, I can make it through this."  
-Unknown_

_

* * *

_

The cool autumn air was a welcome absolution from the blistering haze that the long months of summer had dealt to the land of Fire. Fair-weathered in spring, autumn and fall, the country made up for its mild climates in summer. The ground was baked into solid earth, puffs of dust rising as sandals slapped the surface time and time again.

With fall, though, came a welcome change in their own little corner of the world. Life was no longer to be endured, but enjoyed.

It was for such a reason that the family could be found on the porch. The matriarch, in the seat of honor, had been seated in a finely carved rocking chair with cushions to pad her weary bones. Letting her head fall back, the woman smiled benevolently at the family that surrounded her.

She knew she was blessed. With adult children to carry on his name and her dreams, the family that she had wished for all those years ago was all that she could have wished for, and more. As her emerald gaze met the dark stare of her husband of all these years, the woman's heart was at peace.

It certainly didn't hurt that her youngest grandchild-one of seven-clamored for her attention, demanding an account from her own childhood.

"Grandma," the voice appealed incessantly, "tell us a story!"

Smiling kindly at the granddaughter that had managed to inherit the best of the possible genetic lotteries (really, pink hair on one Kunoichi was quite enough for Konoha's history) with thick dark hair and intelligent green eyes, the older woman couldn't help but laugh. Embracing the child warmly, she settled back in the chair and allowed it to rock, eyes drifting to look back to where her husband of decades sat on the corner of the porch, a part of the gathering but an observer none the less.

"Very well. I don't believe I've told you this story befo-"  
"Is it a story about love, Grandma?"

Impetuous chit, she thought with a laugh. "Yes. It is a story about love-but it is more than that. It is of life..and of dreams."

. . . . .

The shadowed silhouettes bled long onto the dusty, beaten path. It was not an auspicious time to start a journey, but no one had bothered to ask _her_ opinion on the matter. Really, no one had asked her opinion on _anything._

Sakura sighed.

If they had bothered, she would have been able to inform them as to the fact that her entire team was _stupid._ She had that annoying Naruto who demanded _so_ much of Sasuke's time, and then that pervy sensei of theirs who was perpetually late to deal with, too!  
They weren't a team. They were a mocking imitation of it.

Sasuke was the first to go. Perhaps it was feminine intuition that had her waiting for him at the bench that evening. Maybe it was true and she _did_ know him better than anyone else.

Years later, though, Sakura would admit it to others-she was there by luck alone.

It was not chance that had her watching Naruto leave months later, though. The tanned blonde had been her constant companion as the days passed in Sasuke's absence. She had grown to genuinely like the loud-mouthed adolescent who was as impetuous as he was, kind.

They had _all_ done him a disservice.

What hurt the most about it all was that she hadn't even been able to tell him goodbye.

Sasuke went off to learn from one of the few missing-nin that Leaf had ever created, notorious for his part in the legendary triumvirate known as the Sannin. It was inevitable that the naturally gifted boy would become a legend in his own right.

Ever his competitor, ever in his shadow, it was of no surprise to anyone except Sakura herself that Naruto ended up the student of Jiraiya.

For three years, the blonde haired boy had been absent from Konoha. No one knew in the beginning how very long it would take. No one knew that, when that boy left the Leaf Village the sole survivor of the doomed team seven would be forced to find solace in memory and hope for so many seasons.

No one _realized_ how different it would be when they started to reassemble themselves once more.

As Naruto left with Jiraiya, Sakura Haruno was left in despair. Always watching them from behind, always being the one left to wait, it seemed that she was doomed to be forced to repent for their mistakes.

Yet, with a spine that no one had known she had, the pink haired genin had managed to land herself the coveted spot of apprentice to the Fifth Hokage.

Kakashi Hatake in particular, had a moment where he felt the acute twinge of regret. Had that peculiar pink-haired girl always been in possession of such a backbone? It was of little matter, the man concluded, uncomfortable with the direction of his thoughts. More than anything, they were a team doomed from the beginning. It was of little importance if he had done the girl wrong by finding suitable teachers for everyone else but she.

So, as the years passed and the legend of the Sannin refused to fade, what fueled the stories were tales of apprentices. The Snake Master had undertaken the task of teaching a boy as tempestuous as he with far more talent. Sasuke Uchiha could never leave the minds of anyone who had ever seen him, even as a boy.

The Toad Sage was seen traveling with a paradox of a boy, a boisterous yellow-haired affair that everyone concluded, was nothing short of a headache. However, as time flowed on as it was wont to do, the name Naruto Uzamaki found itself in the vocabulary of the world.

"Wasn't he that peculiar boy who won his match against the Hyuuga prodigy?" they would wonder-and realize, that they were seeing something miraculous happen, something new being born before their eyes.

The name no one heard, though, was Sakura Haruno. Left behind by a team that had no need of her, by teachers that had disregarded her as worthless beyond technical knowledge, and by a world that had been jury, judge and executioner, the little pink haired girl had been surpassed by the men she once was surrounded with.

Some things, though, grew finer with age. The wine left to mature in the oak barrel hidden from sight found unseen depths of flavor. The tree that rooted deep in the forest far from any eyes would end up being the strongest of them all, for the silence and peace in which it grew allowed it to be a harbor in the storm.

Far away from prying stares, Sakura Haruno was finding steel in her bones and a courage in her heart that had only been hinted of in the shadows of desperation.

As she aged, the girl was becoming something that no one could have ever seen.

No one, except perhaps the matured blonde woman who stood at the windows overlooking the Leaf, an expression of contentment overtaking her features.

Even if history was trying desperately to repeat itself, Tsunade thought with a smile, it couldn't.

Sakura was stronger than she had ever been, and it would save them all.

* * *

**A/N:** Alright, I actually have this story planned out by chapters so unlike SAN, this should have regular updates. It should be 15 in total (if all goes right) and it explores the past, as well as the future. As you can see, I started this chapter with a little bit of a flash-back idea. Every chapter following should have that. A segment of it will take place in the future, where Sakura is married, with children and grandchildren and then the other half will be her recalling her youth, and the decisions she's made that have brought her to the life she has.

Not everything in this story is as you see. Take nothing for granted. Dream For Her Tonight is a story in which I explore life as it is, not as we wish it to be. For every grand passion that ends in a happily ever after, there is a hidden story of love that makes no sense. For every wildly impractical decision a person can make, there are three other rational options that could lead to a different future-a safer one. Then one begs the question-is safer less fulfilling? Does one need a grand passion to find great joy?

Drop me a line! If you think you can spot the hidden trick of this story-and there is one significant one!-let me know! If you have any feedback or suggestions, let me know those, too! As always, this story was unbeta'd so I tried my best to avoid butchering the english language we all know and love so dearly!


	2. Hopes Replaced

**Title: **Hopes Replaced

**Date:** 9/13/2010; 3:18p.m.

**Soundtrack:** This River Is Wild (The Killers)

* * *

_"Sacrifice, which is the passion of great souls, has never been the law of societies."_

_-Henri Frederic Amiel_

* * *

"Grandma, why did the girl let them both _leave?_"

Straightening to place the little girl on the ground again, the older woman looked off the porch to see where the water ornaments made soothing sounds. If only life had been so simple back then, she concluded with a slight smile.

"She couldn't have stopped them. Both of those boys had to grow up, each in different ways. They all had a lot of growing to do. The boy she loved had no regard for the people who cared for him-and what better place to learn how important it was to cherish the people you love than with a man who tried to segregate you from all emotion but anger?"

Sasuke had been a fool, the old woman recalled with a fond smile. He had made so many mistakes, but they were his to make. It wasn't as if Naruto's incessant goading had made it easy to do the right thing, anyway.

"It's still not fair," her granddaughter concluded petulantly. "Why did the other boy have to leave, then? He could have stayed, and they would have been happy!"

Kindly running her hand through the child's hair, the old woman set her chair to rocking again.

Remaining motionless only reminded her how much her bones ached with age and the coming cold. At least with the gentle sway of the seat, the discomfort abated.

"There were lessons to learn for everyone then back then. If he hadn't left, then she wouldn't have been able to grow, either."

"But-!"

"Now, don't you want to hear how the story goes?"

There was so much memory in those days. As the years passed and her senses dulled with age, the woman was forced to spend more and more of her time in thought of the past. How Tsunade and Jiraiya had managed to remain so active in the face of the onslaught of age was a mystery.

But it was a feat that had not been relegated to them alone.

Power would never forget the form it belonged to, or belonged in. Even decades after the last monumental strike, the hand never forgot how to hold the blade.

Once a weapon, always a weapon.

"_Grandma,_ can't you just tell me how it ends? You can tell me all about how she ended up with the stupid boy who thought he had to leave to avenge his clan, and how they lived happily after!"

She laughed, and remembered the days when she was so hurry to rush into a future she had no hopes of comprehending. Really, the young wanted to be old and the old wished for their youth. It was the way such things went, she supposed.

"Now, now," the old woman chided gently, "what meaning does the end have for you if you don't know what it took to get there?"

. . . . .

"You know I can only _ask_ you to do this, Sakura."

The early morning air was cold and still. Somehow, the grips of winter still fought to hold on into early spring. It made these pre-dawn meetings more pleasant when held in a building, a conventional room with a desk and chairs.

However, no one had ever dared to say that the Lady Tsunade was anything remotely close to being considered orthodox.

Really, how could she have been? The woman was the sole survivor of her team. In all actuality, the blonde was the last remnant of an era that was slowly being lost to memory.

She had seen the ravages of two Great Ninja Wars, she had seen the reign of three Hokage before her. Tsunade had managed to survive where so many had fallen-but the price she paid, in regret, was a staggering toll.

They made a fitting pair, found upon the roof of the Hokage tower in the grey dusk. The sun had not managed to rouse itself from its slumber, and even the Anbu were unawares that their cherished charge had managed to slip the leash.

Of course, Tsunade did so with alarming frequency, but that was neither here nor there.

"I understand, Lady Tsunade."

The contrast of voices was startling-perhaps all the more surprising for the chilling similarities between the two. There was weight, and weariness; they could not shake the compelling sorrow that chased at their heels. Even with decades between them, the fifty six year old Hokage and the eighteen year old jonin had lived their lives in a parallel existence.

"Just think about it, Sakura. I know it's hard, but we need it. We need you."

How long, Sakura wondered, had she sought those words? For how many years had she craved the affirmation that she was _needed,_ _wanted,_ that she wasn't a burden?  
And yet, in the instant it was finally given, the girl had moved beyond such menial desires.

It was three years ago that she realized she was something _special._ She alone had held the body of Chiyo as the old woman's form grew cold after reviving the Kazekage. While everyone else celebrated life, Sakura was left in the privacy of her mind to lament death.

She had killed Sasori, taken on tailed beasts, killed those who would have overtaken Konoha and the things she loved. Sakura had healed friends, saving them from their own destruction, and had kept her mentor safe when political regimes would have seen Tsunade dead while she lay helpless in her coma.

There was so much that she had done-and failed to do.

There were so many things that had to be finished.

For all of those things, though, Sakura knew the truth.

She would never be more than a supplement to any greater action.

When Tsunade had called her to attendance this morning, the young woman was curious, but wary. As the dogmatic Hokage stood overlooking leaf, her apprentice found a curious chill of apprehension creeping down her spine.

Perhaps it was feminine intuition, or maybe it was self preservation. No matter what it was, Sakura's instincts told her that she would not enjoy this conversation.

The Godaime was silent, joined by her one-time apprentice, now both contemporary and confidant. Konoha was truly beautiful and there was no other pair more able to recognize it, more worthy of _seeing_ it as these two women who had sacrificed everything for it.

No matter how much they had done, there was still something more to give.

Could she do it, Sakura wondered? Could she give up active duty as a ninja and become an _ambassador? _She could kill-and had proven it time and time again. That was not unusual. Certainly, the manner in which she managed it was slightly unusual, but it was not word of her battles that spread far and wide, overtaking distant corners of remote countries.

It was her skills as a medic.

Anyone could kill, be it ninja or common thief. It took something else entirely to put the body back together, piece by piece. As Sakura came into her full maturity, Tsunade thought with part-contentment and part nostalgia, that she had been surpassed.

Every aspect of the Sannin had been.

Orochimaru was the first to perish, at the hands of his student. Jiraiya was the next to go. The little red-headed boy that he had saved all those years ago brought his death-but the white haired sage had been content in his passing.

It had _meaning,_ you see. If, in his death, he could ease Naruto's quest then it was a worthy battle lost.

Would she, too, pass by the hands of a student? Between Shizune and Sakura Tsunade doubted it. Where men grew up and grew apart, they had been able to find solace in one another's company. At least there was comfort in knowing that none of them were forced into solitude, although they were no less alone for it.

Sakura's sigh drew Tsunade's attention back to her, as the pink haired girl straightened, seeing the gleam of sun sliver over the horizon. Watching the village slowly be painted in gold, the girl knew one thing with any great certainty.

If she needed to become an emblem of the Leaf, it would be done. If in the course of traveling and healing, as a token of good will, Sakura could smooth the way for Naruto, soften the loathing of the Uchiha who was still a missing-nin, then there was no question.

"There is no asking to it," Sakura remarked softly, eyes gleaming with flecks of gold from sunrise. "You have done a remarkable job of it for as long as you have, but I can do no less."

Years before Tsunade thought that the pink haired girl would be the best of them all. Sakura had it in her to defy the destiny that fate was so stubbornly writing for her. With her determination to make a difference, to not be surpassed, the then-genin had given the Godaime hope.

Now, though, the blonde couldn't help but feel that her apprentice was hurdling down the path to her own destruction. What was more, she was embracing it willingly.

Really, though, how could Tsunade say anything about it?  
She had done no less.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, here's the second chapter. I'm hoping to garner a little more interest in this story if I manage to put up another chapter. I may even be able to spit out a third late tonight (in my desperate attempt to deny the fact that school starts tomorrow).

As you can gather, the start continues the scene we were introduced to the story with in the first chapter. However, the story that continues, focusing on Tsunade and Sakura this time, takes place some years after the first bit in the first chapter. If you hadn't guessed, it takes place sometime after the invasion of Konoha, the Kage Summit, etc. As I don't know the canon events after that, I'm leaving it vague. Just know that Sakura&Co are all 18, Sasuke is still a missing-nin, Naruto is still determined to bring him back (and/or die with him) and Tsunade is still the Hokage. I won't really touch on Madara because that's not the significant part of this story.

It's not a story about adventure, but one of personal growth and realizations.

This chapter really focuses on the notion of sacrifice. There is a quote I love, but I have used it for another story I've published here. It reads as follows. "Sacrifice still exists everywhere, and everywhere the elect of each generation suffers for the salvation of the rest." I feel that aptly sums up what occurs here. Sakura continues to sacrifice her own ambitions (see team seven redeemed) and her personal actions (actively going out to try to get Sasuke) for the ones she loves. If she can promote good will between countries and foster hospitality between individuals, then it makes the redemption that much easier-even if she suffers more for it.

Anyway, drop me a line! Opinions? Suggestions? Guesses as to what the "twist" of this entire story is? (There was one really significant clue in this chapter!) I'd love to hear from you! I've done my best to avoid mistakes but this is unbeta'd. As always, if I've made an error let me know!


	3. The Summer that Fades

**Title**: The Summer that Fades

**Date**: 4/11/2011; 4:53a.m.

**Soundtrack**: Ten Years Down (Story of the Year)

* * *

_"Destiny is what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone, when they are young, knows what their destiny is. At that point in their lives, everything is clear and everything is possible. They are not afraid to dream, and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives. But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their destiny." _

_-Paulo Coelho_

* * *

Pink hair had long ago been traced with silver, leaving the naturally pastel tones softened into something that seemed more fitting into a picture that was black and white. Age, she thought, had taken it's toll on them all. Whether or not it had been kind was a matter of opinion.

On her face, there were lines that hadn't existed decades ago. But she had lived-and lived well. Looking up to the stars, she smiled fondly. Her family. It was her life. All those years ago, she had fought for a love without understanding what it had meant.

Family.

It eluded them all. For a team that had never understood what it meant, their ends had been surprisingly kind. Who would have thought that two boys who had lost everything, and a girl who had never known that something could have been held onto, would have had happy endings?

Reaching a hand up, it was her adult son who drew her to her feet.

"You know this isn't good for you, Mother," he scolded in quiet concern.

Looking up at his height-long ago, it had surpassed her own-she only shook her head.

"It is good to talk to an old friend. There are memories that shouldn't be forgotten, you understand. These days, it seems that all I can do is rehash the events that happened all those years ago…I thought he would like to hear it." The explanation was a quiet one, against the twilight sky. There was weight behind the words, and her son frowned down in concern at her.

"I doubt Hatake-san would be happy to known you sat beside his grave for an entire evening, Mother. The cold bothers you more this season. You shouldn't expose yourself so. He would understand."

"Maa, maa," she remarked, batting a hand against his upper arm. "You worry too much. It isn't even winter yet. Stop being so bothersome."

Besides, she thought as she glanced back at the grave, her son leading her further out of the cemetery-there had been a reason to come.

. . . . .

"Are you happy, Kakashi-sensei?"

The question was a loaded one, Sakura understood. Frankly, what did happy even mean, anymore? Team Seven was broken beyond repair. Sasuke..well. There were some things that were unforgivable. Naruto, well - if he could ever see beyond his own nose, then perhaps he stood a chance at living a life beyond that which he had embraced as his job.

As for her? Life had treated her fairly, she supposed. She had grown. She had learned, and lived. It was enough to change one's perspective, Sakura thought with a private smile. Lifting her mug of tea up to cover the expression of humor that could not have been explained had she been pressed about it, the young woman took a slow drink of tea, looking at the older man evenly from across the table. The years, she saw, had touched him, too. It really shouldn't have been a surprise.

While she was just starting to come into her genuine maturity at the age of twenty two, Hatake Kakashi had lived not just years longer, but had existed in a world beyond what she had ever seen. He had fought in a war. He had seen everyone he loved, die around him and remained helpless to do anything. His thirty five years must weigh heavily on his shoulders, Sakura thought in wonderment-and still, he had never wavered.

Instead of answering, her former Sensei merely observed her steadily from the single eye that peeked out at her.

And then, a smile. The mask creased in an expression that would only have been termed as fake, Sakura concluded sourly.

"I think I should be asking if you're happy, Sakura-chan. You have been in Sand for a very long time, you know."

Narrowing her eyes at him, the pink haired woman carefully replaced the mug on the table. A distinct _clink_ told the man across from her that she would have rather thrown it and heard it shatter. Preferably, against his head. It might have given her some small measure of satisfaction that, frankly, she was certain Kakashi owed her after the years of his acquaintance. An easy person to work with, he had never been. And yet, it was not anything that she would have traded for the world.

"I do believe I know exactly how long I've been here, Kakashi. After all, I'm the one who has to pay rent on my apartment for every year I'm here. The price isn't something I'm likely to forget."

Tilting his head slightly to the side in a gesture that could only have been described as canine in nature, Sakura recognized it from long-standing exposure to the man. He was telling her to continue with her monologue. Yet, Sakura thought with a private smirk, two could play the game that he had engaged in.

Folding her hands on the edge of the table, she stared back at him guilelessly, green eyes gleaming in faux earnestness.  
It was an expression that Kakashi instantly recognized.

Scowling at how the hand played out, the man reached a hand to scratch the back of his head, uncomfortable with how the conversation was progressing. While he had managed to avoid answering her question, she had with equal adeptness, avoided answering his. If he pressed her for more, she would have been entitled to do the same.

Dropping his hand to his side, Kakashi sighed.

"The Lady Tsunade is...aging," he began carefully. One never knew how well Sakura would take unexpected news, and in regards to her beloved teacher, the only safe bet was to be cautious. "She wishes to instate Naruto as Hokage before her sixtieth birthday."

Briefly, Sakura wondered how was it that Kakashi actually _knew _Tsunade's age. For a woman of her vanity, it was virtually unheard of for anyone to be aware of the Slug Princess's true age.

"He's been told to be back in Konoha under no uncertain terms, by mid June. He'll undergo the rest of his familiarization with the paperwork process..and then before August, be inducted in."

Had time really passed so quickly? She was left to wonder. And yet, Naruto only had two months to complete the task that had ridden him for years. Sasuke. Always Sasuke. It always had been, the young woman concluded with a smile that might have been called bitter. Observing her, Kakashi was left to wonder what it was that she was thinking. Her thoughts hardly seemed to be joyous. It was a surprise, given that he was expecting his former student to at least have _something_ to say about Naruto becoming Hokage.

"The idiot," Sakura remarked at last. "We'll be lucky if he doesn't demand a national holiday for ramen." Cracking her knuckles absently, it was very evident to see what would befall the young blonde man, should he try. If nothing else, he had people surrounding him who would not just support him, but keep him grounded.

For a brief moment, Kakashi felt a twinge of jealousy. They hadn't grown up alone. It was a relief.  
They would never have to be alone.

"Maa, maa, Sakura-chan. No need to get violent with _me._ Hokage-sama wants you to come back, though. She said that if anyone could keep the knucklehead in line, it would be you."

Left to laugh at the language that was very clearly Tsunade's, Sakura smiled. A rustling caused her to glance down, and she saw the sheaf of papers that Kakashi slid across the table to her. Looking up at him in silent inquiry, when he nodded, the young woman slid a finger under the edge to open it.

"_It's time to come home, Sakura._"

The message was curt-but it was true. Five years had been much too long.

. . . . .

And so, Sakura saw herself making the three-day trek back to the Land of Fire. Along with Kakashi, Nara Shikamaru had been given his papers as well, summoned back to the city for 'The Event'. There was little doubt in her mind that the Nara would be required to help present information to Naruto in a manner that the blonde could digest.

Tsunade never had possessed the patience for such tedious acts.

With Shikamaru holding the rear of their unofficial formation, she was able to push more chakra to the bases of her feet, propelling herself forward beside Kakashi. Brushing his sleeve unobtrusively, her green eyes remained forward, fixed on the vast expanse of land they had still to cover, before they crossed the border into the Land of Fire.

"Kakashi."

It was the solemnity in her voice that got his attention the quickest. Lacking in jest or playfulness, her apparent inability to meet his eyes alerted him that this was not one of those moments that he could escape with a quip about a lady's cat.

"I really do hope you're happy."

Life, Kakashi concluded, was decidedly unjust since she had opted to bring that back up. As her hand slid away to her side and she veered further away to reinstate distance between them, almost as if she were pretending that she had not just pressed for something so impossibly private that the notoriously reclusive shinobi would have broken out in a rash from the pressure, were he the type. Reaching out to stop her retreat, his hand settled heavily on the top of her head, as he had done all those years ago.

"I am content."

"That isn't really what I had asked," Sakura objected quietly. "What does that mean, anyway? _Content._ It sounds like _perfectly adequate,_ to me-and who wants that?"

"You'll understand," Kakashi concluded with that mocking smile that everyone loathed so much, "when you're older."  
Only, he thought privately in the recesses of his mind, he rather hoped she would never know.

. . . . .

Forcing her eyes to turn back to the star-scattered sky, she could only smile as her son oh-so-carefully tugged her away from the graves that had been her silent sentinels for the passing hours. It was only at the gateway to the cemetery that the grandmother paused, forcing her son to stop alongside her.  
Waving him on with a gesture that bode no tolerance for a lack of obedience, her green eyes-dimmed with age-watched him walk a ways down the path, before he halted, waiting for her once more.

Turning to face the direction she had come from, all she did was smile. Bowing her head, the woman sought the words to ease the ache in her heart that she had wished to assuage all evening.

"I understand, Kakashi," she spoke at last, remembering that day all those long years ago, running on the sand under the heat of the sun.  
"But I'm not content. I just thought you would want to know. I am happy."

And as she returned to catch up to her son, three of her grandchildren running up the path to grab at her hands and the edge of her kimono, somewhere in the trees around them, a breeze rustled as if in acknowledgement.

That little girl who had learned to have so much strength, who had shown so much courage, deserved nothing less to be happy.  
It was what Hatake Kakashi had realized all those years ago.

* * *

A/N: Well it's been quite some time since I've updated this but for some reason, this chapter was bugging me to be written. I think it speaks much of how our minds change as we mature. We lose sight of what it means to be happy-or maybe, we just give up on it.

We'll return to The Great Love Story in the next chapter (whenever it may show up, for which I apologize!) and we'll see more of Sasuke shortly.

Again - there is quite a twist in this story, and there has been another significant hint in this chapter for what it is. If you see what it is, you should let me know! Or, review. Either works. I'd love to hear feedback on this.


End file.
